micropatrology

noun

1. The study of microstates; sovereign countries with very small populations, land areas, or both.

   uncountable

   These people make a hobby keeping track of small countries, both established ones (like Monaco and Liechtenstein) and new countries. "Micropatrology" is their word for "the study of small countries."

Where it comes from

From micro- (“very small”) + Latin patria (“country”) + -ology (“branch of learning; a study of a particular subject”), coined by the International Micropatrological Society in 1973. Perhaps a classical compound via translating micronation into Latin as micropatria (literally “microcountry”).

Related words

• micropatriology

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry micropatrology (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← micropatriologymicroraion →

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